Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Heath, William, 1737-1814 to William R. Lee

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04788 Author/Creator: Heath, William, 1737-1814 Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Letter signed Date: February 11, 1778 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket ; Height: 23.8 cm, Width: 18.1 cm Order a Copy

Written by Heath as commander of the Convention Army, which consisted of British prisoners of war from the Saratoga campaign to Lee as commandant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where many of the troops were located. Complains to Lee that many British soldiers are disguising themselves as sailors and peasants and joining the Continental Army in order to receive a bounty, clothing, and arms and then returning to the British barracks. Orders Lee to go to Burgoyne immediately and to retrieve several persons who names are enclosed (not included here). If Burgoyne will not give them up, he is supposed to search the barracks and seize them.

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources